“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Mark 8:34 NLT
It’s day eight of “Mark, one chapter ad day for Easter.” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the study, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!
Today verses 34-38 stuck out the most to me, especially verse 34:
This command from Jesus comes after he tells his apostles he must suffer and die. He rebuks Peter when he he says, “never!”
Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to fufill his calling and assignment.
Isaiah prophesied this about him:
“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7 NLT
Then Jesus himself declared:
“As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51 NLT
His face set like stone.
Resolute.
Determined to do God’s will.
This is the way Jesus was ready to endure suffering to fufill his mission because he loved us.
Because he loves us.
Let’s just sit right there for today, meditating and marveling at his determination to bring us salvation.
May it spark an organic desire in us to follow him with the unselfish determination he calls us to have.
Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Mark 7:6 NLT
It’s day seven of “Mark, one chapter ad day for Easter.” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the study, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!
Today while I was reading I was mostly drawn to verses 1-23, honing in on verse six.
Once again, I’ll be sharing today using the quiet time format for this reading plan, an acronym for M.A.R.K. (see image below). Patterning your time in the Word with a structure similar to this one will help you interact with it and not merely read it and forget about it. The Word of God is so powerful, and the Lord wants nothing more than to see you ask him to be your teacher so he can guide you into his truth, I am just here to encourage you along the way!
My verse: “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Mark 7:6 NLT
I love how Jesus cuts straight to the heart when the Pharisees try and convict the disciples of not performing the ceremonial hand washing ritual before eating. How dry and surface level the religious people had become back then! Jesus used this opportunity to explain to them how they had been side-stepping God’s law and substituting their own man-made traditions.
Application: Let God do a heart checkup on you every morning to get rid of anything that will hinder you from fulfilling the greatest commandment:
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 2:29-31 NLT
There are some beautiful scriptures that the forerunners of our faith recorded long ago which are perfect to pray during these heart checkups. Here is my favorite:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalm139:23-24 NLT
Then, ask the Lord to help you to love him and others more than you did yesterday. Because of what Jesus did, we don’t have to clean ourselves up before we come to him. We come as we are and trust that his blood covers the sin that easily entangles and threatens to harden our hearts and keep them blocked off from his love. We come everyday, and everyday, he melts away the hardness and makes our hearts soft and loving.
Review: The ceremony the Pharisees loved was supposed to be an outward symbol of an inward process that wasn’t taking place in their hearts, and Jesus saw right through it. When the religious people tried to condemn Jesus and his followers for not following the age-old hand washing ceremony, Jesus used it as an opportunity to rebuke them for their hard hearts that cared more about man made ideas than God’s commands.
Kneel in prayer: Lord, we praise you for being more concerned about our hearts being close to you than our religious traditions. As we approach your throne this Easter, please help us all spend time with you, letting you search the deepest places in our hearts that only you can see. Bring out and excavate all things that are taking your place there. Replace it with the love your Holy Spirit produces for you and all people, so we can fulfill the greatest commandment in your strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We are almost halfway through the book of Mark! I’d love to hear which verse spoke to you today!
Then Jesus said, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.””
Mark 6:31
It’s day six of “Mark, one chapter ad day for Easter.” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the study, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!
Today we are reading chapter six, and I was mostly drawn to verses 30-32, where the apostles have just returned from their ministry tour and Jesus tells them to come with him to get away and rest for a while.
30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.
I’ll be sharing again today following the pattern for quiet time for this study. It’s based on the acronym for M.A.R.K. seen in the picture below. Try it out in your own personal time with God and see if it helps you hear God through his word more clearly.
My verse: There were amazing miracles in this chapter, like Jesus feeding five thousand from five loaves and two fish, and when he walked on water! What a powerful Savior we have! Even with those amazing moments in today’s reading, I was compelled to write the verse when he asked the apostles to come away with him and rest all over my forearm to help me remember and do this!
As women in 2024, we are pulled in so many different directions, and we can relate to Jesus and his apostles’ problem of needing rest. As the crowds kept pressing in on Jesus and his apostles, the scripture says they were so busy serving and meeting needs that they didn’t even have time to eat. Does that sound familiar to any of you? I think it is important that we see how Jesus felt it imperative to have the apostles get away with him to rest just as necessary as meeting all the immediate needs of the crowd.
Application: Intentionally get away with Jesus to rest. This thought is so counter culture in a world where “the hustle” has become a catch phrase. But if we neglect time to refuel and replenish with our Savior, our living water, then our cup is going to run dry and we are not going to be the women we are hustling around striving to be. Create a rhythm of rest into your day. Ideas are short walks or runs, a ten minute rest where you close your eyes, stretching, etc. When you are taking these “rests” from serving others and working hard, invite Jesus. Practice an awareness of his steadfast presence. Acknowledge that he is the trustworthy One in control, making it possible for you to truly rest in him, knowing he’s got everything under control.
Review: In the thick of a season of ministry and spreading the gospel, the apostles returned to share their experiences with Jesus. He responded by telling them to come away and rest with him for a while.
Kneel in prayer: Sweet Jesus, thank you for knowing that we need time to rest in you. Please help us to abide in you, working hard at whatever good work you have for us to do, but to also listen to your voice calling us away to rest and refuel with you. You do the miracles, Jesus, and we trust that you are always working, even when we are resting. Amen.
I love how Jesus speaks personally to each of us through his word, giving us what we need to abide in him. I’d love to hear what he spoke to you through this chapter!
Holding her hand, he said to her, “Get up, little girl!”
Mark 5:41
It’s day five of “Mark, one chapter a day for Easter,” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the plan, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!
Today we are reading in chapter five, and I was mostly drawn to the last section of scripture again, to verses 35-43. I’m sharing today following the quiet time pattern below. Try it in your own personal study and see if it helps you find focus and structure to help His Word come alive in your life! See the image below.
35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”
36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”
40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!”42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.
My verse:Mark 5:41, when Jesus takes the seemingly dead girl, holds her hand, tells her to GET UP, and she does! Bam. Oh, how small and powerless I must make Jesus out to be most of the time!
Application:Let Jesus take your hand and raise you up from dead areas in your life, because you have resurrection life in you as his daughter.
If you are in Christ, your future is always secure and bright.
No matter how dark and hopeless life seems in the moment, if you have entrusted your life to Christ and professed your belief in him, there is no real death for you. Jesus is always in the process of making all things new for his children. But we have to take his hand, and walk with him into this new life, this best life he has for us.
How do we do this? Everyday, we read his word, pray, and trust him.
Review: Jesus was alerted that Jarius’ (a synagogue leader) daughter was dead. Jesus ignored their comments, insisted that she was only asleep, and entered the room she was lying in. He took her hand, told her to get up, and she immediately woke up and walked around! Let us be reminded of the resurrection life that each of us have because we belong to him, and let us take hold of his hand reaching out to us today. Rise up, sisters, and walk in your new life today. Your future is secure and bright in your Jesus.
Kneel in prayer: Beautiful Jesus, I pray that we would know you are more powerful than we make you out to be. Help us to take your hand today, rise up and live out the resurrected life we have in you. May we all be confident that because of what you have done, our future is always sure and bright. We love you Jesus, Amen. ❤
“And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the wind and the waves obey him!””
Mark 4:41
It’s day four of “Mark, one chapter a day for Easter” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the plan, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!
Today we are reading in chapter four, and I was mostly drawn to the very last section, verses 35-41. For today’s blogpost, I am going to share my quiet time plan. It’s based on an acronym for this series. See the image below.
My verse –is Mark 4:41, because I am enamored with the great power of Jesus, even over the weather. He can do anything, and it’s so easy to forget that and get terrified in a storm of ANXIETY. I have been battling a small storm of anxiety over decision making lately, so the disciples reaction to Jesus’ ability to sleep during the storm really spoke to me.
Application – Don’t be anxious, have faith in Jesus. Like Jesus asked the disciples:
“Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?” Mark 4:40
Jesus has ultimate power over all things, storms, and circumstances.
Having faith over fear and worry means that we have the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. If we have prayed about it, we can leave worry at his feet and know he is in control, no matter how hard the wind of doubt starts blowing or how violent the waves start crashing around us.
If we know Jesus is in the boat with us, our heart can rest knowing that at anytime he has the power to say, BE STILL.
Review: Jesus was sleeping in the boat as it filed with water from the raging storm. The disciples woke him. He rebuked the wind and the waves, and then he rebuked the worried disciples, asking them why they didn’t have faith in him.
Kneel in prayer: Almighty Savior, I praise you for calming storms; for desiring us to have faith over fear and anxiety that rage like storms in our souls. Please forgive me for my little faith. Empty me out of my anxious, storm-like behavior, Lord. Help me trust you are good and in sovereign control at all times, Amen.
I pray this prayer over you as well, sweet reader! I’d love to hear your verse from chapter four. ❤
Amy D Terry 
